


maybe this is how i first met you

by sirensokka



Series: winter atla femslash week 2021 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Chi Blocking, F/F, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, Pining, Post-Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, The Fire Nation's attitude towards hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29133420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirensokka/pseuds/sirensokka
Summary: it's always been mai and ty lee against the world, and prison is no different.(featuring homoerotic chi blocking, the mortifying ordeal of being known, and kisses.)
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Series: winter atla femslash week 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137914
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41
Collections: Winter ATLA Femslash Week 2021





	maybe this is how i first met you

**Author's Note:**

> good morning mailee nation! i have many emotions about these ladies. please enjoy <3
> 
> written for winter atla femslash week, day one: first kiss
> 
> title from [romance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBz-yaAK4gk) by shinee

Ty Lee has watched Azula practice her bending enough times to know what it looks like when she bends lightning. For her own sake, she’s never really thought much else than, _I hope she never points like that at us_. She’s not a fool - she knows that Azula is powerful enough to take them down with a single blow whenever she feels like it. But she also knows that Azula keeps them fighting beside her for a reason, and she knows that she’s the only one who can stop her now.

Azula’s stance is terrifyingly precise as she prepares to shoot Mai full of lightning, her slim fingers unwavering as she points them at Mai.

Mai, whose presence has kept her sane for years. Mai, who looks at her with soft golden eyes when no one’s looking. Mai, who’s never seen her as a freak or an outcast. Mai, who’s visited Ty Lee in her dreams for years and years.

She remembers the time they spent sneaking into each other’s tents just to feel each other’s company, the times they spent alone on the palace grounds waiting for Azula, the stolen glances and feather-light touches at night, careful to never give anything away.

Ty Lee is moving before she can even fully comprehend what she’s doing, muscle memory guiding her hands and legs as she chi blocks the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation.

Azula’s gasp echoes in the deadly silence, chilling Ty Lee to the bone. She sees Mai’s dumbfounded expression, knives still clutched tightly in her hands, and she knows that she can’t let herself freeze.

“Come on!” she pleads, tugging on Mai’s arm, way beyond caring about how desperate she must seem. “Let’s get out of here!”

Mai shifts her eyes towards hers, the shock on her face changing too slowly into horror, and Ty Lee knows how this ends. Within seconds, Fire Nation soldiers have them surrounded, restraining them away easily. She can barely hear Azula shouting at them to rot over her heart pounding in her ears.

She doesn’t look at Mai, and Mai doesn’t look at her.

They’re carted away in silence, the riot ongoing behind them as the guards scramble to disengage the prisoners. Ty Lee thinks of the gaunt, angry faces she saw when she was inside the Boiling Rock, and it takes everything in her power to not start panicking immediately. Next to her, Mai is as steely as ever, lips pursed and eyes alight with anger.

“In here,” a nameless guard says gruffly, shoving the two of them into a dingy cell. The only light that comes into the cell is through the slot on the door, encasing them in darkness. The door clangs shut behind them and then it’s just the two of them, Mai and Ty Lee, traitors to the Fire Nation.

She can’t speak. She’s not sure what she’d say or what she can say. _Hey Mai! Crazy day, huh? I can check “Go to jail” off my bucket list now!_

Mai moves first, carefully making her way to sit under the dim line of light provided by the gap. She doesn’t say anything, silently twisting her knives through her fingers as she stares into nothing. The silence is stifling, but Ty Lee can’t even find it in her to move beyond the entrance, let alone string together a sentence.

It feels like decades pass before Mai speaks into the silence of their cell, once the ruckus from the riot has died down and all the prisoners are back in their cells. “We won’t stay here,” she whispers, startling Ty Lee so badly she almost falls over. “My uncle won’t leave us here,” she continues.

Ty Lee takes a moment to process her words. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Mai states. “He kept Zuko instead of immediately turning him in for a bounty just so I could yell at him. He won’t keep us in his jail.”

Ty Lee nods, moving to sit on the floor next to Mai. “Where will we go?”

Mai shrugs. “A smaller jail,” she guesses. “It won’t be nice, but it’ll be better than here.”

They sit in a more comfortable silence this time, both lost in their own thoughts. Ty Lee still isn’t sure she’s processed what just happened. She half expects herself to startle awake any moment now, taken out of this nightmare and taken back to their campsite. Or maybe Azula will appear outside their door, say “Just kidding!” and whisk them away again.

Or maybe Ty Lee simply saved the girl she loves from certain death. It’s as simple as that, but not simple at all. She thinks back to what Mai said, her head raised in defiance and eyes blazing: _I love Zuko more than I fear you_.

_Well, that’s it then_ , Ty Lee thinks. _I love Mai more than I fear Azula_.

Simple as pie.

She’s yanked out of her thoughts once more as their cell door groans open and there stands the Warden, Mai’s uncle, towering over them.

“What did you do, Mai?” he asks, voice booming, disappointment clear his tone, and Mai doesn’t dignify that with a response. 

The warden sighs. “You and your friend will be taken to the Capital City prison. Right now, the prison is full of captives from the invasion. You won’t be looked for there.”

Ty Lee doesn’t say anything. “When?” Mai asks.

“In a few minutes,” the warden states. “You’ll have to change into prison clothes,” he adds, then plops a bundle of rags at their feet and leaves.

Slowly, Ty Lee makes her way over to the pile of rags. Two shirts, two pants, both an unflattering burgundy-maroon color. She passes an outfit to Mai, and they change in silence. She tries not to look at Mai -- this isn’t the first time they’ve changed around each other, but this feels different. This shouldn’t be happening, but it is, so Ty Lee keeps her eyes trained on the wall in front of her and tries not to cry.

The guards come back a few minutes after they’re done, sliding handcuffs over their wrists and guiding them out of the Boiling Rock. Prisoners hiss at them as they walk the corridors, but most of them seem to be subdued. She tries not to think about it. 

They’re taken to the gondolas, walking through the very spot where they committed treason, and Ty Lee feels the desperate urge to let loose the hysterical laughter building in her chest. She glances at Mai, but her expression is guarded and unreachable. She can still see some of Mai’s shuriken embedded in the walls, and suddenly she’s seeing the way Mai flurried between the guards, deftly rendering them useless against her, and she feels a surge of pride.

The gondola is silent as they’re carried over the boiling water. 

**─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───**

Mai isn’t jealous. Absolutely not. She is _not_ a jealous person, thank you very much.

It’s perfectly normal for her to feel a bit miffed at just how badly Ty Lee wants to get in with the Kyoshi Warriors.

They’ve had nobody but each other for years. All of the girls at the royal Fire Academy feared Azula, and by extension Mai and Ty Lee. When Ty Lee had run off to the circus, Azula could barely be bothered to pay attention to her, and everyone else was too scared to talk to her.

Which was fine.

But then they were reunited and it was just like old times, her and Ty Lee (and Azula) against the world, and that was enough for Mai. Ty Lee was enough for Mai, with her annoying cheerfulness keeping her from completely spiraling, her bright smiles and high laughter wrapping Mai in a cocoon of warmth whenever she saw them.

Of course, then Mai just had to go and commit treason and Ty Lee just had to go and copy her. 

How unoriginal.

Mai can’t figure out why she did it. She can’t let herself hope that Ty Lee feels the same way as Mai does, she can’t for her own sake, so she sits and she ponders and she tries not to go crazy as they adjust to a prison routine. She tries not to feel the way that they’re dancing around each other, making empty conversation as they eat horrible sludge, wandering aimlessly during their recess, and then barely looking at each other when they’re back in their cell for the night.

There’s barely ever a guard in front of their cell, and Mai remembers that her uncle used to be the warden of this prison. She feels...not grateful, exactly, but it’s certainly extremely convenient and he’s her favorite niece and she’s the one who gets thrown in jail.

What _isn’t_ convenient is the fact that Ty Lee won’t stop talking about the Kyoshi Warriors. She’s just trying to eat her lunch, for Agni’s sake.

“I just want them to like me,” Ty Lee says, her voice veering into a whine.

Mai stares at her for a moment, face expressionless. “You want everyone to like you.”

Ty Lee looks up at her, part hurt and part embarrassed, but Mai’s gone back to poking at her sludge. “It’s not a bad thing to want them to like me,” she says.

Mai doesn’t look up from her food when she replies, “I didn’t say it was.”

Ty Lee huffs, stabbing her fork into her food. Mai tries to not let her embarrassment show on her face as she twirls the slop around her tray. She knows she’s being petulant, petty even, but she can’t help the ugly feeling that flows through her when she thinks of Ty Lee _leaving_ , deciding that she likes the Kyoshi Warriors better than gloomy, gray Mai. Of deciding that she isn’t good enough.

A few moments pass and Ty Lee sneaks a few obvious glances at the Kyoshi Warriors sitting on the other side of the cafeteria. Mai feels her hands clench around her fork and she wants to smash it into her head because of how stupid she’s being. She doesn’t own Ty Lee. She has no _‘claim’_ over her. For all Mai knows, she was only putting up with her because she didn’t have anyone else. For all she knows, she didn’t chi block Azula for Mai, she just saw it as an escape from Azula’s grasp -- and now the Kyoshi Warriors are an escape from her. 

Ty Lee clears her throat, bringing her back to the present. “Just because I want to hang out with them doesn’t mean I’ll just leave you behind,” Ty Lee says quietly.

Mai’s eyes dart up to meet Ty Lee’s, and she instantly knows that she can’t hide from her. She never could, and she won’t be able to now, so she tries her best to squash down her embarrassment and formulates an answer.

“I never said you would,” Mai states as nonchalantly as she can, but she knows that Ty Lee notices the way her shoulders relax, and her face brightens. 

“Good!” Ty Lee chirps, resuming her meal. “Because that would be silly. I committed treason for you, Mai, I’m not going anywhere.”

Mai’s throat suddenly feels very tight.

“What’s your plan, then?” Mai asks, desperate to take the conversation elsewhere but not wanting it to end. “It’ll take something big to make them trust you.”

Ty Lee exhales slowly, but there’s no hesitation in her voice when she says, “I’m going to teach them chi blocking.”

Mai quirks an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that require you to chi block one of them? You think they’d trust you enough for that?”

Ty Lee shifts. “Well,” she starts, drawing out the word long enough for Mai to become suspicious. “I was thinking that I could chi-block you instead, to demonstrate.”

The cafeteria is very loud, but it suddenly feels eerily silent as she thinks through what Ty Lee just propositioned.

She thinks back to the way a gasp ripped its way out of Azula, the way her face was frozen in terror and confusion as her body fell. She remembers every time Ty Lee took down her opponents, their arms and legs failing them, the complete lack of control they had over their bodies. Her skin crawls at the thought of being robbed of control, the one thing she’s desperately tried to have her entire life, but she feels herself wavering as she looks into Ty Lee’s eyes.

“Does it hurt?” she hears herself say.

Ty Lee smiles. “I wouldn’t hurt you,” she assures.

Mai feels her cheeks heat up as she whispers, “Okay.” Ty Lee’s face instantly brightens, but it’s not like she was ever going to say anything else -- there’s nobody to perform for here, she doesn’t need to twist herself into something she’s not. Never when it’s Ty Lee.

“Thank you!” Ty Lee cheers, leaping to hug Mai. She doesn’t hug back - she’s not quite there yet - but she rests her cheek on Ty Lee’s shoulder and knows that Ty Lee will understand what she’s trying to say.

Ty Lee pulls away and Mai is made aware of the fact that the Kyoshi Warriors are staring at them, daggers in their eyes. Mai sighs, not bothering to shovel more slop in her mouth, and waits for the guards to haul them away to the yard.

“I’ll ask them tomorrow,” Ty Lee tells her. “You won’t have to say anything. I can do all the talking.”

Mai nods. “Okay,” she says again. The rest of their day passes uneventfully - none of the prisoners bother them, other than the occasional curse or shove. Ty Lee could probably pass as an Earth Kingdom citizen, but Mai’s golden eyes mark her as an enemy, so Ty Lee’s proximity makes her one by proxy.

Also, she’s pretty sure the Kyoshi Warriors told everyone exactly who they were on their first day there.

The next day, Ty Lee is eager and ready to go back to the Kyoshi Warriors, and for a brief moment Mai considers backing out. She feels an ugly selfishness rise in her, maybe her self-preservation instinct or something equally stupid, and she wants to scream, _No!_ as Ty Lee begins to make her way over to them.

In the end, she forces herself to follow Ty Lee into the dragon’s den.

“Hi again!” Ty Lee says, and dozens of eyes turn to dig knives into Mai’s skin. She keeps her face expressionless and lets Ty Lee take care of it.

“Is all of the Fire Nation this stupid?” a girl sneers. “What part of ‘we don’t want you here, piss off’ was hard to understand?”

Ty Lee doesn’t miss a beat. “I know it’s probably hard for you to trust me,” she says, sympathy seeping in every word and making numerous girls scoff. “But I know just how to win you over!”

A few of them look amused, some entertained, and Ty Lee evidently takes that as a good sign because she swings her arm around Mai without taking her eyes off of them. “I’m going to teach you guys how to chi block!”

The hard mask of hatred slips off their faces and morphs into shock. If Mai hadn’t been so good at controlling herself, she’d burst into laughter. A confused silence falls upon their table as the girls exchange looks, some wary, others disbelieving, and others just the slightest bit trusting.

One girl slides her eyes over to Mai and asks, “What’s the deal with Miss Bangs over there?”

Mai doesn’t let herself blink, but she feels a weird surge of protectiveness over her hair. “I’ll demonstrate on her,” Ty Lee explains, “since I don’t expect any of you to trust me enough for that. Yet.”

“Why would you do that?” asks the same girl who called them stupid.

Ty Lee grins at her, only the slightest bit strained. “Because I want you guys to trust me! How am I supposed to join you if you don’t trust me?”

The girl looks absolutely flabbergasted, but she must decide that it’s not like she’s got anything better to do in prison because she says, “Fine.”

Mai doesn’t know what they would’ve done if they’d said no, and she decides that she won’t ask. Instead, she watches Ty Lee tell the girl - Jiu, they learn - where to meet them during their yard time, then lets herself be pulled away to their usual table.

“That went great!” Ty Lee gushes, settling into her seat. “I’m so happy they said yes! Their auras all mix really well together. I think it’ll be fun.”

Mai considers for a moment. She wonders how her aura mixes with Ty Lee’s. “It’s hard to say ‘no’ to you,” she settles on, feeling her heart surge as pink tinges Ty Lee’s cheeks. “I’m sure you would’ve worn them down eventually.”

Ty Lee beams. “Thanks, Mai,” she says softly, and Mai memorizes the sound to keep for later.

They eat together in silence, but it’s comfortable. There’s not much to say now, anyway, and Ty Lee knows that she’s never been one for small talk. Mai lets herself watch Ty Lee, her round eyes still a comforting shade of brown, the prison clothes unable to hide her beauty, and she looks at the way her braid is still meticulously tight trailing down her back. Mai has the sudden urge to run her fingers through Ty Lee’s hair, to gently slide the ribbons off and undo the braid, letting the waves cascade between her fingers.

She wonders if Ty Lee ever wants to do that to her hair. Mai wonders if Ty Lee thinks that Mai is beautiful and if she thinks she’s beautiful despite the shabby prison clothes because Mai is pretty sure that Ty Lee would still be stunning while wearing a potato sack. She wonders what Ty Lee sees when she looks into her eyes, the only golden eyes among the prisoners.

She wonders, but she doesn’t hope.

The guards call them into the yard, the doors to the courtyard creaking open, so Mai tears her eyes away from Ty Lee and mentally prepares herself for being a chi blocking dummy.

“Come on!” Ty Lee urges, wrapping her hands around Mai’s arm. Mai doesn’t let her arm jolt, but every nerve in her arm feels like it’s trying to break free from her to get closer to Ty Lee.

“You’ll be perfectly fine,” Ty Lee continues, leading them into a far corner of the yard. “Don’t worry! I won’t let you fall.”

_Too late_ , she thinks, but she doesn’t say anything.

The Kyoshi Warriors are waiting for them, Jiu standing in front of them and marking herself as the _de facto_ leader. Ty Lee had told her about their actual leader, Suki, but she’d escaped the Boiling Rock on that day. So, Jiu it was.

“Hi girls!” Ty Lee says, flashing them a winning smile. None of them look soothed by it. “So, this’ll be easy. I’ll demonstrate on Mai, and then you guys can mimic my movements in the air. When you’ve got it down, you can practice on each other.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence for a few beats until Jiu says, “Fine.”

Ty Lee doesn’t waste a second, giving a brief speech about the mechanics and purposes of chi blocking. Mai thinks that she should probably pay attention - she might learn a thing or two - but she decides that she’s fine with her knives and tunes Ty Lee out for a bit.

“...And so,” Ty Lee says, gesturing for Mai to turn. “Watch me, watch my fingers, then copy.”

Mai braces herself, calling on every wisp of self-control in her body. “Ready?” Ty Lee whispers, and Mai nods.

Ty Lee’s knuckles dig into a spot in her shoulder, and her arm instantly loses feeling. She doesn’t let the gasp slip past her throat, but she can’t stop the way that her mouth drops open and her eyes widen. Ty Lee steadies her, and Mai just hopes she doesn’t look at silly as she feels.

It’s hard to describe how she feels as Ty Lee continues, but Mai schools her expression as she continues to dig into her back, her limbs loosening under her touch. Ty Lee was right - it doesn’t hurt, but it feels like her bones have been taken from her body, her muscles turning to mush and her blood running hot. It’s as terrifying as it is exhilarating to lose control like this, and Mai knows that her face is probably redder than her prison uniform by now. 

The Kyoshi Warriors at least look more convinced now, matching Ty Lee’s movements in the air with complete precision. Slowly, as they drill the movements into themselves, she feels her limbs come back to her. The force of her strength hits her like a boulder, her arms and legs thrumming with renewed energy.

“I told you that I wouldn’t hurt you,” Ty Lee whispers into her ear, making shivers race down Mai’s back. Everything inside her feels heightened, and for a moment she thinks that she might actually just lean in and kiss her.

She doesn’t, of course. Instead, she whispers, “I know. I trust you.”

Ty Lee’s eyes soften, and they stand for a moment, adrenaline leaving Mai’s body, and she again feels the urge to kiss Ty Lee senseless. Her eyes flick down to Ty Lee’s lips - really, it would be so easy, she just needs to lean in and…

“Ahem,” comes a voice from behind them, and Mai springs away from Ty Lee (in a dignified manner, thank you very much). Jiu is staring at them, arms crossed and a vaguely amused expression on her face. “Is that all for today?”

Ty Lee’s face is bright red, her eyes unfocused as she squeaks out, “Yep! See you guys tomorrow?”

Jiu looks at them for a moment, and Mai can’t tell what she’s looking for. She feels uncomfortably bare under her gaze, but then Jiu’s lips quirk upward and she says, “See you tomorrow.”

Jiu and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors trickle out of their corner, and Mai can’t tell if she wants them to stay or if she wants them to leave faster, but in the end, the guards are calling them back into their cells before she can decide.

Mai resists the urge to look at Ty Lee, silently making her way back to their cell. Out of the corner of her eye, Mai can see Ty Lee clasp her hands together, just like she did when she and Azula were facing off, and Mai doesn’t know what to make of that.

**─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───**

The silence wouldn’t normally bother Ty Lee, but she really can’t believe that Mai expects her to just sit quietly after what happened in the yard.

Ty Lee isn’t crazy, okay? She knows that they had a moment, Mai’s weight a comfortable warmth in her arms as she watched Mai’s eyes dart to Ty Lee’s lips, and she _knows_ that Mai was leaning in because she was leaning in, too.

And she knows that she’s spent a great deal trying to worm her way into the Kyoshi Warriors, but at that moment she wanted to just cart Jiu off as far away as possible.

Now they’re sitting in their dingy cell, no guard in sight, Mai twirling her stilettos around lazily. She knows the way Mai has been raised, knows that it’s in Mai’s nature to show as little emotion as possible, but Agni help her, she thought something had changed. She hoped, wished, that something had changed, hoped that Mai agreeing to be chi blocked meant _something_. And she doesn’t think it meant nothing, not exactly, but Mai’s suffocating silence is driving Ty Lee up the wall.

She can’t stand the silence. Not now.

“I wonder what Azula’s doing,” Ty Lee blurts. She’s wondered before, but she hadn’t in a few days until she’d said it out loud.

Mai doesn’t turn to look at her. “I don’t,” she says shortly.

“You don’t have to pretend,” she gives her, but Mai just tenses and she knows better than to press her more. She finds herself wondering what all three of them would be doing, right now, if Mai hadn’t betrayed Azula and if Ty Lee hadn’t followed suit. She doesn’t miss it, not by a long shot -- Azula was the ultimate prison. She would’ve taken the Boiling Rock over a single day with her alone, but the routine was so familiar that she did feel _something_ missing.

She has no idea what Azula could be doing right now, and she’s not sure she really wants to know. Whatever it is, it’s nothing good.

“What about Zuko?” Ty Lee tries instead. She has no idea where she’s going with this, she just knows that her goal right now is to get Mai talking. “What was his plan, anyway? Commit treason, break up with you, save the world?”

“I think he broke up with me before committing treason, actually,” Mai replies, matter-of-fact.

“Oh,” Ty Lee says. She remembers that Mai’s uncle had let her visit him, alone, and she feels a pang of jealousy, or maybe insecurity, and it makes her feel weak for the briefest second. “Sorry, Mai.”

Mai shrugs. “He was a jerk,” she says, her voice carefully controlled. “I don’t do jerks.”

“Still,” she replies, and she sees her point of entry manifest itself. “I know you were in love with him.” 

Mai pauses for too long, and Ty Lee turns to look at her. She has a look on her face, something Ty Lee can’t quite place, but suddenly the air is stiller and their cell feels simultaneously cooler and warmer. _Bingo_.

“I do love Zuko,” Mai starts, voice slow, “but not...like that.”

Ty Lee feels a breath leave her mouth without her permission. Her heart is pounding, her mouth dry, and her stomach is in a flurry of butterflies, but she keeps her voice level as she asks, “How do you love him?”

Mai is silent, her face flashing through emotions quicker than Ty Lee thought humanly possible. She doesn’t look at her when she says, “I love him in the way that I should love you.”

Her heart stutters, stops, and then resumes a moment later, beating faster than it ever has in her life. She knows the answer then and there, but she needs to hear Mai say it. Her tongue feels like cotton in her mouth and she prays that isn’t wrong when she asks, “How do you love me, then?”

Mai turns to her now, her golden eyes bright, pleading, insistent, and her gaze feels sharper than any of her knives ever could. She’s never seen Mai be so open, so vulnerable, and Ty Lee feels her resolve crumble.

“Why did you do it?” Mai counters.

Ty Lee begs every Spirit listening to let her have this because if she doesn’t kiss Mai right now she might die, then she lets her eyes flutter shut as she leans in and presses their lips together.

Mai’s hands are on her instantly, and Ty Lee doesn’t know how she’s survived a single day without this. One of Mai’s arms sneaks behind her back to tug at her braid, making Ty Lee gasp, and Mai doesn’t hesitate to deepen their kiss. Ty Lee lets herself be pulled in deeper, feeling her hands settle on Mai’s neck as Mai keeps kissing her, urgently, like it’s the last thing they’ll ever do.

She feels Mai pull back and she lurches forward instinctually at the loss of contact, a whine making itself out of her throat before she can stop it. Her eyes fly open, embarrassment overtaking her, but Mai’s golden eyes just look molten and hungry.

“How do you do this to me?” she asks, her voice raspier than usual. Ty Lee feels a rush of adrenaline go through her, her fingers threading themselves into Mai’s hair. Ty Lee relishes in the way Mai’s eyes slip close, her forehead coming forth to rest on hers.

“Do what?” Ty Lee whispers.

Mai’s eyes open again, her expression painfully sincere. “You make me crazy,” she admits. “It’s terrifying.”

Ty Lee wants to shout from the rooftops. She has the strangest urge to call the guards in and tell them, _I make Mai crazy!_

“Really?” Ty Lee says instead, her voice pitching to a tease.

“Yes,” Mai replies, her eyes piercing into hers. “I like it.”

Then she leans in and kisses her again, leaving Ty Lee breathless. She feels Mai’s fingers tug at her braid, clumsily undoing it without stopping. Ty Lee lets her, shuddering as Mai’s hands slowly tug on her scalp. She pulls back, catching her breath, and decides that she won’t ever spend another day without kissing Mai.

“What now?” Ty Lee asks. _What now_ , indeed. Here they are, just the two of them, Mai and Ty Lee, traitors to the Fire Nation, kissing in their dirty cell at the Prison Tower. She has the distant thought that none of her other sisters have _ever_ come close to this and she almost lets out a bark of laughter.

Mai shrugs, her black hair beautifully disheveled, her lips red and swollen. “We’ve survived worse,” she says simply. “As long as we’re together, we’ll be fine.”

Ty Lee grins at her. “Well, I’m not going anywhere any time soon,” she jokes, making Mai snort softly.

“I don’t think I am, either,” Mai replies dryly, but her eyes are twinkling as they gaze into Ty Lee’s.

“So that’s it then!” Ty Lee chirps, scooting to turn her back to Mai. “I think you owe me a braid now,” she adds over her shoulder.

Mai’s cheeks turn pink, but there’s no shame in her face as she reaches to run her fingers through Ty Lee’s hair again. “Sorry about that,” she says, not sounding sorry at all.

“I don’t mind,” Ty Lee says earnestly. “I liked it. It’s good to try new things.”

Mai pauses for a moment, then slowly pulls Ty Lee into a loose hug, her chin coming to rest on Ty Lee’s shoulder. “Thank you,” Mai says quietly, her voice slightly muffled.

Ty Lee hums, resting her head on Mai’s. “Of course, silly,” she replies.

They’ll be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> two girls sitting in a jail cell five feet apart cause they're not gay
> 
> i got weirdly emotionally attached to jiu while writing this. i wonder how she's doing. 
> 
> come yell with me on tumblr: [sirensokka](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/sirensokka) :D


End file.
